A Night in Cho's Life
by Concretecows
Summary: Starting as a tag to 7x9, one idea of what Cho's life outside of work might look like. Normal disclaimer applies, I own nothing!


The last thing Cho wanted was another taco, but it was as good an excuse as any to step away from the table and get his thoughts together. Contrary to his calm features, his emotions were running high. Just being told you were being handed a dream promotion could do that to any man, even the most stoic of individuals.

Things just felt…right. He knew Lisbon and Jane were truly happy for him. To an outsider, him being her boss after years of the reverse might has seemed awkward, but while he would never admit it to anyone (and honestly, didn't want to even admit it to himself), he knew they were together, and had a feeling their days in the FBI were numbered already. After as much heart and emotion those two had put into their work for the last decade, it was time for them a breath and enjoy life. They deserved to be happy.

Watching them on the dance floor as he returned to the empty table, he could see they were well on their way to that happily ever after. And obviously Lisbon was getting over the idea of hiding things, because unless he was mistaken, she just gave Jane a quick kiss on a public dance floor as their dance wrapped up, just feet away from team members. Still feeling like he was invading their privacy a bit, his eyes quickly darted away, and went back to scanning the rest of the dancers as a slow song started over the loudspeakers.

For the second time that night, he couldn't hide the grin that quickly flashed over his features as his eyes settled on Wylie and Vega. Poor Wylie just wasn't quite sure where he should put his hands (or his feet, for that matter), and the mix of panic and joy on his face was priceless. Cho couldn't see Vega's face as she faced away, but he wouldn't have been human if he didn't enjoy the rear view. She was a beautiful woman, and he was definitely attracted to her, but maybe it was due to his age, or his affinity for women that needed rescuing, that kept his feelings for her firmly in the brotherly category….well, most of the time. While Wylie wasn't exactly the type he would imagine for her, maybe, like him, she preferred to feel like she could take care of her partner. And Vega would definitely be the Alpha in that relationship. He doubted Wylie realized the wild ride he was in for…again, he had to fight to keep a smile from flickering over his face.

It was closing in on 11pm, and if he was going to manage to get up for his normal workout in the morning, he should be heading home. He thought about waiting for his teammates to get off the dancefloor to say goodnight, but with an internal smile he realized they wouldn't even notice his departure. So he slipped through the small crowd and made his way to his car.

The short drive to his building and the walk up to his apartment took less than 20 minutes. He opened the door and walked into his efficient, minimalist style living area, separated from the kitchen by a small island. The hall led to two bedrooms, one of which has been turned into a workout room. Even thought he was close to his coworkers, he had never actually had any of them over to his apartment. But he didn't doubt each of them could do a good job at describing most of his décor to a T, sight unseen. Most of the furniture was simple and modern, with a small but high end entertainment system on one wall, showed very little embellishment. But he doubted that even Jane would be able to guess that the centerpiece of his living area was a couch. Not just any couch, but a large, brown, distressed leather monstrosity that very closely resembled something that Jane would pick out.

Years ago when his back had been acting up, whenever he ended up alone in the CBI office he would take a moment to stretch out on Jane's couch, and quickly learned why Jane loved it so much. It was unbelievably comfortable. So when he was furnishing his now place, he did something totally out of character and purchased one as similar to that old brown sofa as he could find. And he didn't regret it. His body wasn't 20 anymore, and after a hard day at work or strenuous workout, lying down and watching some sports on TV was one of his biggest indulgences.

But tonight, even the comfortable couch beneath him and the drone of the TV in the background couldn't settle his restless mind. It was times like this that he would privately wish for someone (outside of the office) to share his good news with. He had no family to speak of; he'd probably wake the kids if he called Risgby. Although he didn't have a girlfriend, he was definitely not a monk…but he doubted that the somewhat distant, divorced banker he discreetly met up with every week or so would care about his career moves. So calling her was out of the picture. And honestly, he was getting bored with that arrangement anyway.

It wasn't long before he started to get irritated with himself. He had no reason to wallow in self-pity on what was actually one of the happiest days of his life. He forced himself to get up out of comfortable seat, threw a jacket on over his tshirt, and headed out the door. He knew just where he needed to go. The gym was open 24 hours; there was no reason to wait until morning.

He was just getting into his car when his attention was caught by a commotion coming from the all-night diner across the street. The sound of loud arguing was coming from the normally quiet eatery, and through the window he could see that the regular waitress was having a bit of trouble with a group of drunks. He took off his jacket, tossing it into his car and shutting the door before he strode across the street. He felt the beginnings of that familiar adrenalin rush that fueled him so often in life. While he didn't think the situation was serious enough to warrant calling it in, a little 'reminder' to these young drunks of the proper way to treat their waitress was most definitely warranted. Sometimes, old school methods worked better than any badge, and it had been quite a while since he'd had an opportunity to use them…


End file.
